Male Sex Roles in the Future: Will “Prince Charming” Survive?

Abstract

A decade ago many people felt that “Prince Charming” would be unable to survive the onslaught of several simultaneous social movements. The Women’s Movement, the (male-led) Black Power movement, the men’s movement, the Gay Movement, the youth movement, the sexual revolution, and numerous other “little acts of rebellion” all combined seemed on the verge of dismantling Prince Charming’s masculinist castle in the early 1970s. Even “Prince Charming” himself was threatened with destruction during this period. However, as we look around today, there is substantial evidence that Prince Charming’s castle remains intact; and Prince Charming, though battered, survives in the 1980s.